Happy birthday, Mr. Shatner.
Happiest of birthdays to Mr. William Shatner. Keep living and keep prospering. Alton Drew 22 March 2026 Continue reading Happy birthday, Mr. Shatner.
Category: Uncategorized
The Wrap: Interbank market news scan for 19 February at 5:00 pm.
5:00 pm EUR/USD 1.1768 GBP/USD 1.3472 CHF/USD 1.2900 AUD/USD 0.7058 NZD/USD 0.5974 JPY/USD 0.0065 CNY/USD 0.1447 Gold 4998.95 Silver 78.35 Source: Reuters U.S. Supreme Court The US Supreme Court today did not issue any court opinions discussing artificial intelligence or large language models. U.S. Court of Appeals-Fourth Circuit The U.S. Court of Appeals for the … Continue reading The Wrap: Interbank market news scan for 19 February at 5:00 pm.
Am I pleased with the EUR/USD?
As a binary options trader, I don’t care about cuts in the federal funds rate outside of where an announcement moves the price of the EUR/USD in the short term. But as someone who has to work for a living and is in need of a boost to their capital, a lowered rate of interest … Continue reading Am I pleased with the EUR/USD?
Could it be more about where the banks want to go versus where traders think the Fed wants to go?
Over the weekend, I spoke to my contacts in the banking industry trying to get a feel for banker sentiments on the Fed’s interest rate policy. The sentiments boiled down to the banks taking whatever the Fed decides in stride. As one contact put it, it’s about the money and the banks will take what … Continue reading Could it be more about where the banks want to go versus where traders think the Fed wants to go?
Powell speech drives up EUR/USD …
The EUR/USD closed at 10:00 am at 1.16001. By 11:00 am, it closed at 1.17181. I thought his speech was a rehash of testimony he would have provided to Congress. The “nothing to see hear” nature of it told me that he would try to garner consensus of the rest of the Board members to … Continue reading Powell speech drives up EUR/USD …
It is less about political interference with the Fed and more about the degree of interference.
There is ongoing concern of a threat by the Executive Branch to the independence of the Federal Reserve System, specifically influence by the Executive Office of the President on the decisions made by the Federal Open Market Committee on monetary policy. I do not think the issue is political threats to the independence of the … Continue reading It is less about political interference with the Fed and more about the degree of interference.
A quiet day at the CFTC and in the markets as well …
From my events contracts trading desk … As we get closer to the meeting tomorrow between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald J. Trump, the euro tapered off some of the strengthening I saw from around 4:00 am this morning. The EUR/USD was at 1.16686 and by the close of the 6 am … Continue reading A quiet day at the CFTC and in the markets as well …
CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Letter Regarding Event Contracts
August 07, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight and the Division of Clearing and Risk today announced they have taken a no-action position regarding swap data reporting and recordkeeping regulations for event contracts in response to a request from the Railbird Exchange, LLC, a designated contract market, and QC … Continue reading CFTC Staff Issues No-Action Letter Regarding Event Contracts
Time to discount effects of Trump’s call for a Powell removal on EUR/USD
From my trading desk: A little dollar strengthening from 5:00 am to 9:00 am, then … From 5:00 am to 9:00 am, I saw dollar strengthening based on the decreasing price of the EUR/USD as reported on the NADEX. The price went from 1.15424 to 1.15354. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its balance … Continue reading Time to discount effects of Trump’s call for a Powell removal on EUR/USD
Lawyers Write the Bets. Bankers Sell the Bets. 